Laura Byrne and Brittany Hockley don’t plan to hold back in the new Married At First Sight spin-off show, MAFS: After The Dinner Party. And, as we hoped, the pair told WHO they’ll be acting as a voice for the people, asking the brides and grooms all the questions we wish we could as we shout at our screens at home.
The spin-off series, set to air right after the second dinner party of the season on February 18, will give viewers a behind-the-scenes look into all the drama and involve interviews with the contestants and experts.
Laura and Brittany, alongside co-host Jules Lund, confirmed they’ll be brutally honest about their thoughts and…
Ladies, we salute you!
Here’s what they had to say:
Why did you want to be involved in MAFS: After the Dinner Party?
LAURA BYRNE: “For the length of time that we’ve been doing [our podcast Life Uncut], MAFS has come up every year whenever it’s on. I guess for us, it’s kind of like the perfect fit.”
How honest do you think you’ll both be with the contestants about your own opinions as things unfold?
BRITTANY HOCKLEY: “We don’t really have a filter so, like, if we think it or feel it, we’ll definitely say it or ask the question or get to the bottom of it. There is always at least one thing that has everybody talking – some kind of unacceptable situation or behaviour.
“But the fact is, they’re the people out here, they’re the people we’re dating. Like, they haven’t fabricated that situation for TV. That is what we’re dealing with [in real life] and I think it’s really important to be able to set the groundwork, the boundaries, the foundations, red and green flags, what is and isn’t OK because there are so many young impressionable people that watch this show, men and women. We get to call out the bulls–t and hopefully change the narrative in some capacity.”
LB: “We have a responsibility to be us – as in, we built a brand, we built a business, and that business and brand are based around us, reflecting our morals, reflecting our values and really, I guess, not wavering from that. And so we have a responsibility to continue to be those people on this show.”
How would you define the hat you wear when you give other people relationship advice?
BH: “My hats have evolved over the years. I feel like I have a hat rack. As it started off, I was far more sympathetic. But I have friends now that I have a hat that I put on and I’m like, “Get the f–k out of there. Like, this is not OK.” And I’m happy to say, “You don’t see it because you’re in it.” And I can say that because I have also had those rose-coloured glasses on.”
LB: “These contestants and participants in the show, they’re not our friends. So if there is someone who’s on that couch, whose behaviour has been absolutely deplorable, we can sit there and have that conversation with them. But the really great thing about it [is] that they get the opportunity to say the why. And maybe there’s context there that we haven’t seen play out on TV. And maybe there isn’t.”
What advice would you give the contestants after your own reality TV experience?
BH: “I would just say don’t do reality TV unless you really want it for the right reason – we can see it and we can smell it when it’s not authentic and it’s not real. And you’re wasting everybody’s time. So just be real, do it for the right reason and really just try to have fun.”
LB: “I know that for these participants, it’s a really real experience, so if it’s not right, don’t stay for airtime because there is nothing to be gained by staying in an experiment when you know that the relationship is not right.”
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